Epic. Unbelievable. Extraordinary. The past five months for Coach K have been a treasure for our head coach and for Duke. In April, Coach K led his Blue Devils to a national title that almost no one predicted and followed that up by leading Team USA to a World Championship in Turkey.

Both Coach K’s national and world champions were teams that experienced constant growth, competed fiercely and unselfishly, and peaked when the pressure was greatest. Both squads were defined by their spirit, camaraderie and commitment to winning.

“I’ve had two of the purest experiences in my life in a five-month period at this time in my career,” said Coach K. “(That’s) crazy lucky good. But I want to have another experience with my Duke team.”

No one builds teams like Coach K and the Hall of Famer is energized by the process. There’s very little looking back for the current NCAA, world and Olympic champion coach with so much to do in the present with another terrific group.

“I think what’s been done is incredibly unique, instead of what I did,” said Coach K. “OK, you’re the lucky guy that was the guy to coach that… And now it’s time for Duke Basketball. I’ve always been, not a rear-view mirror guy, but right now. I’m not a future guy, either. I’m on to the next thing.”

The next thing is working with a team of Blue Devils excited to take their shot at a banner-worthy season. A group with as much talent as any team in the country awaits Coach K and the official start of the season on October 15th.

“I love coaching,” said Coach K. “So I want to see what Kyle and Nolan can do, see where Mason and Miles are at; how cool would it be if two brothers vault to another level? And what can Kyrie Irving do as a freshman? Those are the exciting things for me, and hopefully they translate into enough wins to put you in a position to play for something big. I would like to play for something big all the time.”